Health problems continue to persist for Davis Love III of St. Simons Island, Ga.
The two-time Players champion (1992, 2003) will undergo surgery on his right hip in Birmingham, Ala., after he tied for 38th at the Insperity Invitational near Houston two weeks ago (the tournament was cut to 36 holes because of weather) and he had to withdraw from last week’s Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte — an event he wanted badly to play since he was born there.
Love, 57, has now withdrawn from next week’s PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, where he has a past champion’s exemption until he’s 65 years old.
“He just got wobbly out there, and he knew he couldn’t walk,” Love’s manager, Jimmy Johnston, told the Associated Press.
Love had hip replacement on his left hip in 2017 and has had neck issues.
His goal now is to be able to play in the Wyndham Championship Aug. 12-15 in Greensboro, N.C., an event he tries not to miss since it was where he won his last PGA Tour title, 2015, at the age of 51.
The member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, who counts 21 PGA Tour titles on his resume will lead the USA charges in the 2022 Presidents Cup. It will be the third captaincy for Love; he was at the helm for the USA in the 2012 and 2016 editions of the Ryder Cup. Love also has been a vice-captain in the Presidents Cup in 2013, 2015 and 2017 and in the Ryder Cup in 2010 and 2018.
And this fall, he will be an assistant for captain Steve Stricker in the Ryder Cup.